Dr. Tina Vartanian talks about LACHSA the #1 Public Arts High School in the nation

The Hustlers welcome Dr. Tina Vartanian, the principal of the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA)—widely considered the #1 public arts high school in the nation. In a candid, personal conversation, we dive into:

• How a school modeled after the movie Fame is adapting its curriculum to prepare students for a rapidly changing industry (yes, we're talking about AI).
• The importance of arts education for all kids, and how LACHSA provides a tuition-free path for students from every corner of Los Angeles.
• The incredible list of alumni, from Josh Groban to Fergie, who got their start at this powerhouse institution.

#tinavartanian #LACHSA #filmhustlers

Transcript

Tuddy: 0:00

Hey, thank you. Seriously, when you said that right now, I was like, what? Take notes, Robert.

Mark R: 0:06

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Film Hustlers. I want to thank people for tuning in week after week and listening to our ridiculous rants about the business. But you know what? I think we're better than producer Patrick.

Tuddy: 0:21

Patrick? Patrick. I like producer Patrick, but I think we bring more

Mark R: 0:25

personality. I was surprised at what we started talking about eight weeks ago and what we're talking about now. It's changing so fast.

Tuddy: 0:31

Well, it's like our business. It's fluid. Like, some days are good, some days are bad. Sometimes you make hits, like Beautiful Darkness, and sometimes you make, you

Mark : 0:38

know. By the way, congratulations. Jersey, here we come. You're going to New Jersey.

Tuddy: 0:41

Yeah.

Mark R: 0:42

Right? Yeah, yeah. Let's win something. Yeah. How many festivals is

Tuddy: 0:46

that? That is 10 festivals. That's three semifinalists. Mm-hmm. One victory. Yep. One win. Yeah. So we got 11 laurels on our posters now, guys. That's amazing. That's a poster.

Mark R: 0:59

Well, today we're going to be talking about something really special. When I thought about interviewing Dr. Tina Vartanian, what she's doing at LAXA, which is a school for performing arts. Yeah. It's been around since 1985, but I'd like to welcome Dr. Tina Vartanian to our show. Dr. Thank you. Thank you. It's

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 1:19

a pleasure to be here.

Mark R: 1:20

What a pleasure to have you. Thanks for doing I've heard

Tuddy: 1:23

so much about this school even before, like I've heard about this school for years. Are you kind of like the Juilliard of the West Coast?

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 1:29

Well, yes. But better, right? I'd say much better. That's what I heard. So actually, we are the number one public arts high school in the nation. So I'm really proud of that. And this is our 40th year. And it is Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. We've been around for 40 years now, and we're celebrating that. We're on Cal State LA campus.

Tuddy: 1:51

Yeah, my wife went to Cal State. a degree in biochemistry. Oh, wonderful. Graduated with honors.

Speaker 04: 1:55

Congratulations, yeah. We have our own standalone building there, and it actually started in the library at Cal State LA, but we have our standalone building, and then they take classes in that building.

Mark R: 2:05

It's stunning. You would be jealous at the amount of camera and lighting equipment that they have in this place. It's amazing. I have been to the campus there. It's pretty remarkable. Jeff

Tuddy: 2:15

Stern's

Mark R: 2:15

daughter goes there. Jeff Stern's daughter goes there. What's the acceptance rate? Like 7% or something? Yeah, it's real, yeah. Super, super

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 2:23

competitive. It is. And so one of the things that we're doing is that we're starting now, recruiting for next year. So October, I think it's October 1st, our applications go out. So just outreach, and we're doing a lot of things. Because I want more kids from the community, like from the Cal State area, just our local kids to get the opportunity to come to Loxah. Can

Mark R: 2:46

I go?

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 2:47

Yeah, please.

Mark R: 2:49

I

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 2:49

remember Ann said that. She says,

Mark R: 2:51

I want to come here. Yeah, can Mark come back? and my wife wanted to go back too.

Tuddy: 2:54

Like Rodney Dangerfield.

Mark R: 2:56

Yeah, going back to school. But, you know, the reason I found it really important to have you on the show is because I was thinking about how different times are now. Loxah started in the 80s and it was a different time, right? I mean, you were making movies or you were doing TV series. There wasn't a whole lot of things going on, right? You just either did this or you did that and now it's like breaking open like crazy like you're able to we've been talking about Mobisodes we've been talking about YouTube we've been talking about streamers we've been I mean you they're not shooting on film anymore I don't know if Broadway's changed for a minute there even Broadway seemed like it wasn't going to make it that seems to have recovered too like does it change what you do curriculum wise for kids because of what's happening in the world of entertainment

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 3:53

yes it does and so that's that's why it's really unique so we're a comprehensive just regular high school in the morning from 830 to like 1245 so

Mark R: 4:01

that's like English math yes and you

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 4:04

have to because you're going to graduate with a diploma but the school day is a long day so at 130 it just transforms into a conservatory so whether it's dance visual arts music vocal jazz theater dance cinematic arts what did I leave out But whatever the art is, it turns into a conservatory at that time. And so it's really quite magical. And I know you got to see some of it, but you might have someone in the office for doing something silly in their algebra class or whatever, but that same student's going to be maybe singing tonight at the Hollywood Bowl. And that's actually happening tonight. One of our graduates, our alumni, Josh Groban, is performing tonight, and the jazz ensemble is singing with him. You dropped something. Oh! Oh,

Tuddy: 4:52

I'm sorry. Doctor, don't take anything he says serious. Write him a bad prescription.

Mark R: 4:59

Oh my gosh. Yeah, sorry. By the way, Josh Groban is an amazing singer. Josh Groban does his version of Oh Holy Night that's like show-stopping. And he went to Loxah, but so did Fergie. And

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 5:13

Robert Vargas, who's really making a difference in this world right now. It's just amazing to go see him.

Mark R: 5:20

A lot of actors and professionals come to Loxa to speak and to perform. You had Al Pacino did a show with your students.

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 5:29

With our students and so that's what's really so beautiful. Not just our alum but artists do want to give back. On PBS SoCal Art Happens Here was John Lithgow and that's those are our kids and so that's and it was different arts schools and different arts but the vocal part was the Loxa kids and he came worked with the kids and it's just It's just really beautiful. I want to answer your first question. Like, do we change or how does the curriculum change? So we have, as I said, we have our regular comprehensive high school, but we have arts chair people. So we hire the one person to chair each of the disciplines in arts. And what they do in their department is they hire the professionals who are working in the field. So you're going to have someone in our songwriting class who is out there making music, working with our kids. That's amazing. The person... who is teaching, maybe teaching an instrument, is out performing their own gigs in the evening. So you're getting the professionals yourself. I would love for you to come teach a class. And I had mentioned

Mark R: 6:35

that. Listen carefully, fellas. I teach a class here every week.

Tuddy: 6:40

Doctor, so my wife teaches something similar. My kids are homeschooled, but she teaches at an enrichment program called Threefold Village out in Sunland. And it's a Waldorf-inspired, but it's really geeky. It's kind of similar. It's geared towards the arts. The woman who created it, her name's Camille, she's a Juilliard graduate. They put on some of these amazing productions. In fact, they had this guy over here come and speak one time. Oh, that's right. I spoke with him. Yeah, but it's kind of similar, but it starts K to 8.

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 7:09

And that's where it really needs to start. I'd love to see all the schools in L.A. County have music and arts when they're little. My dream is one day to open for five years. year olds and have put everybody on on violin and or piano and then the next year because you're building all and we were just talking about this the myelin matter you're building all of this when they're when they're young and then you're creating like a lot of our graduates some of them I mean they're doing other things yes they always have their their art is their passion but you're gonna have you know scientists and you're gonna have people like we have people going to Yale to Harvard but also conservatories

Tuddy: 7:46

when they leave there they're all good kids they're all well-rounded but arts is really like the backbone of it. Now that we're saying it, that when they graduate in eighth grade, there's a handful of schools that they kind of like everybody wants to go to. That's one of

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 8:00

them. And I did bring promotional material, some cards so you could take those. But

Mark R: 8:06

it's interesting going back because I know that a lot of people in the industry think about putting their kids into schools like LOXA. How does AI switch? By the way, I'm an advocate for AI. I love AI. I think it's terrific. I think it's amazing. I think it's It's amazing. But I also think... You want to cut us all out. Is there going to come a time when school isn't necessary because you could just ask AI? I would imagine in some cases teachers are teaching and somebody's on their phone trying to figure out if the teacher's wrong or right or teaching it differently or backwards or whatever, right? Is it possible? Is that a thing?

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 8:38

Well, you know, it's funny. You have to be ahead of the game. So you have to learn how to use AI in your classroom. And that's kind of what we're working on. But actually, the arts were first because I think it was two years ago when we were... we were talking to kids about joining the cinematic arts program, it's like that was a sore subject at the time. It's like, you know, we do have to teach this because that's where our world is going. And so, you know, keeping a little bit ahead really helps. I did want to mention it's free. It's free. It's non, it's no tuition. It's free. That's the beauty of it. And so we do have a foundation. So people, they raise money for the school, but the arts budget's about five, maybe five million for the art, just for the art. And so we run the regular school and then the art school. So it's about a $14 million budget. We are part of the Los Angeles County Office of Education. So there's two specialized schools. And so that's why any kid from LA County can come to our school.

Davie Dave: 9:37

So if Mark Roberts goes and teaches there, can we get funding for our next film? The foundation will fund it,

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 9:44

yes. Yes.

Davie Dave: 9:45

There's obviously like an application process.

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 9:47

It's happening now. Last week we had a webinar of just talking about the school for kids that are you know in eighth grade and um then we we do that maybe three or four times before before october actually and then we have um we want to bring people in to see the school and then they fill out the application and then they audition the auditions are usually over by um right after like maybe by the end of january and so by by march the students know if they're accepted for next year and sometimes it's a wait list and sometimes it's they get in right away.

Mark R: 10:24

What if you're a comedian and you want to audition? A comedian

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 10:27

podcaster? If you're a comedian, then you would audition for the theater

Mark R: 10:32

program. Theater program, okay. So anything's possible.

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 10:34

Yeah, and it's potential. So all of our adjudicators, it's about potential.

Mark R: 10:38

What really hits me is that when I think about being in entertainment and being a producer, and a lot of the people that I know and work with, because we're all sort of misfit toys, you know, and we're all... kids that grew up dreaming and hoping for a better life. Where'd you grow up, David? L.A. Yeah, well, part of L.A. L.A. What part of L.A.? Compton. David, Dave, Paramount, Compton, myself, East Los Angeles, yourself, East Los Angeles, Monterey Park. It's East L.A. So you, East Los Angeles. And it's amazing because I think we need opportunities too, you know? And it's funny because when I, I didn't go to college traditionally, I got into the business immediately i worked on i was i graduated in 1983 and i was on three amigos in 1986 right as uh as an assistant or whatever and then right when i was about 27 i said you know i wanna i want to go to school and i remember thinking i feel like filmmaking is my destiny so i'm gonna apply to the american film institute now the funny part is that i applied and you got it and they interviewed me and they let me in yeah

Tuddy: 11:50

that is the funny part i That's the

Mark R: 11:55

crazy part because I had no formal education to be going into a graduate program, but that's not how they measured it, right? I was going in with people that went to Harvard who had BAs from like Boston University and me had zero and they were like, yeah, you're in. I can

Tuddy: 12:12

picture you being like,

Mark R: 12:13

wait, are you serious? I'm going to go to school with all these people? Are you serious? But having said that, I think that when you're underprivileged, the way I was, you know, and my dad died when I was six, you had a tendency to want to be anywhere but where you were. And that makes you very qualified to be in show business, to create stories, to dream about somewhere other than where you're at. And I think that that's, that's a powerful thing. So when you think about teenagers going to school and, and, and kids really accessing their music and their creativity to, you know, to potentially have a career at it, it's really neat that they have a place like Laksa to go. The fact that you are actively allowing kids that potentially couldn't go to the school for financial reasons is so awesome. It's so awesome. Yeah, I think so too.

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 13:08

And you know, when you're a 9th grader coming in, most of the, and we have a couple 10th graders who transfer in, but when you're, you know, you're all the same. You have to take the same basics and so it's humbling, I think, to some kids, but It's also it's just really exciting for them to be in a place where kids think like you. And like every day is an adventure at the school because every kid is a creative kid. You know, my background is in music. And so that's it's fun to be around kids that are that think like me. And, you know, I'm a lot older than they are. But when I'm around them, it's I'm 15 like I am with you.

Mark R: 13:45

Hey, I wanted to take a minute out of the show to talk about ExtremeMusic.com. ExtremeMusic.com is one of the absolute most wonderful tools you will ever have as a producer. I use it on every movie I do. In fact, I'm doing a Christmas movie right now, and I am using ExtremeMusic.com as a tool to find needle drops, to find music for various scenes. I'm using it to find all types of music for my movie. I love it because it gives you a variation of the same song. It gives you lots of choices. So I got to say, Russ Emanuel and the whole team over at ExtremeMusic.com are doing a great job. Not only are they our partner and our sponsor, but I as a producer and many of the people that come on the show also use ExtremeMusic.com. So maybe you should too. ExtremeMusic.com for all your music needs. How did you get your start? I mean, you are the principal of a very, very successful school, the number one public school in the nation for performing arts. How did you become the principal of that school?

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 14:50

It's kind of a long story. I'll give you the little cliff notes. Wait, I got it? Wait, I got in? Yeah, right? I got in? I was one of the kids that, when I was in high school, we went to high school together. I'm sure you have

Mark R: 15:01

some stories on that. Oh, yeah, we went to high school. I'll tell a story in a minute.

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 15:03

And so my family, it was like they said, well, you have to do this. It was either UCLA for theater or USC for music and of course I was smart and I chose USC for music but anyway I went in right away as a music major but then I fell in love with teaching and I thought oh I love teaching music because it's really exciting to be the first person like when someone opens a case and that I mean I loved it and then I taught middle school which I adored I taught that for 18 years and then during that time I wanted to be better at it so I finished my degree my master's degree and then I thought I wanted to be even better at it and I want to see how the brain works and so that's when I did my doctorate and when I did my doctorate I fell in love with the with the music prenatal to five and so like how the brain works and how and how you're you know that's our slogan and I don't want to be corny here but you're born to create every kid's born to create so so and so after that I decided to move into administration, but in arts administration. So I was the coordinator for a, I don't know if I should say the name, but I was a coordinator for one of our public schools in the arts, and then I came to LACO, which is where I work now, because LOCS is one of our schools. And so at LACO, I was brought in as the arts coordinator, and I worked for the juvenile halls and camps. So for the kids who were, and I fell in love with with bringing art to those kids. Because in my mind, they're all innocent kids that are locked up, but they need the arts too, because these are some of the most creative kids. So I had to get my admin credential to oversee one of the schools, which was a residential treatment center. I fell in love with it. And so from there, they said, well, wait a minute. Tina was the arts coordinator, but she's now turning this school into more of an arts magnet. Loxa has an opening for an assistant principal. So that's how I went to Loxa. And then three or four years later, they, the principal opening happened and that's how I am. The principal. Wow. That's an incredible story.

Tuddy: 17:22

Great journey. Can you edit that? Los Angeles to the number one school, creative arts school in the nation.

Mark R: 17:30

That's, that is a remarkable, it is a remarkable, beautiful journey. Like how you got there. And by the way, it's not the easiest thing in the world to do. I mean, And there's not that many performing arts high schools in the United States. So the idea that you are the principal of one of them is pretty remarkable. So congratulations. Thank

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 17:47

you. I actually teach a conducting class, which I love, with the students. And I play the flute. But I'll be retiring soon. But it's just to start my life. And it's just to play. By the way,

Tuddy: 18:00

when you said your age, I'm not going to say it. I thought, because you said your age, and I understood that. But when you said your age, I was like, wait a minute. Are you pulling my leg? Well,

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 18:10

thank you. And coming from now that I know that you're that your expertise, that means a lot to

Mark R: 18:16

me. In addition to your awesome journey musically, what did you start playing and at what age?

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 18:22

Well, piano, too, actually, because I would my dad would always sing and he oh, my gosh, he tried everything. And so, I mean, we're Armenian. And so, of course, out comes the the oud and the dumb bag, which is a little drum. And so so we always I've always had music in the house. And then at, I think I was two when my mom got the piano. And I would, I actually, that was a safe space for me. I would sit under the piano and play with the dolls and things. And I just was fascinated by it. And I think that, so it was never a scary thing for me. I loved it. So I started with piano. And then when I was in middle school, I wanted to be like my cousin who was, at that time, he was a real hippie, you know. And so I loved him. And so he played the flute. pictures of him playing flute in the fields and everything. I said, I want to be like that. And so that's how I started that. I kept with that, and that's part of my degrees. That's

Mark R: 19:19

amazing. I love that stuff. Well, I'm going to tell a little story, because Tina and I did go to high school together. We went to Scher High, which is the number one school in the nation for performing arts. What did Kim call it? No, he didn't call it. He called Montebello High School the Harvard of East LA. We were up on the hill. But what's remarkable about Scher High School is that it had an amazing performing arts department, right? It had choir. It had an amazing band department. So the arts part was really popping, right, when we were there. Tina was in band. I was in choir. I was in the shows. I was in football. I kind of did it all. But what was really interesting is that one year there was an honor band and an honor choir. District honor. District honor, right? So they picked the best singers and the best band from all the schools and put them in one band and one choir and they all performed at this one place. I forgot what place it was. So we all got the day off and we all went to go there and to rehearse, right? So I know Tina. Tina's like a straight-A student. I'm like a flunky. And we're at this thing together and she's like, you know, I don't know if you know anything about music, but when you play in a band, there's like flute one, seat one, right? Is that what they call them? Yeah. And like... and then two and three, right? And she was one. And I guess when they went to rehearse, the flute that was playing with her next to her, seat two, wasn't there yet. So she looks at me and she goes, hey, do you want to borrow a flute and pretend to play? And I was like, oh my God, I'm getting so much trouble. David LeBeau's out there, our teacher, and I don't know. She's like, come on, who cares? Just go out there. It'll be a lot of fun. So she gives me a flute. when I move my fingers, you move, when I put the thing down, you put it down. I said, fine. So I go out there, I sit down and the conductor is our high school band conductor. And I'm thinking he's going to recognize me. I'm going to get kicked out of here. So he doesn't. And he just starts to conduct and I start to pretend to play. And I got through the entire rehearsal and I put the thing down and we're just dying laughing the whole time. We're just like, you know, like someone, said don't laugh in

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 21:39

church. I mean,

Mark R: 21:40

he was better than me. I was really playing. Wait, were you

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 21:43

playing or were you just

Mark R: 21:44

pretending? No, I was pretending to play. I don't know how to play the flute.

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 21:46

Breathing? Like when I would breathe, he would breathe. Yeah,

Mark R: 21:49

it was so much fun. But I was expecting to get in a lot of trouble and when I went down, all my teachers just were dying like on the floor laughing that I did that. Because they were watching? Yeah, yeah, because they were watching. Did you do your thing? Yeah, yeah, I bowed. It was like Chris Farley up there, you know? It was ridiculous. But it was so much fun. And that was Exactly. And that was the fun of our high school, right? Because Tina and I were in the shows. We did band. We did choir together. We did all of this creative stuff. And it's kind of fun that you grew up to be the principal of a school like that. And I grew up to be a producer somehow. I think at the end of the day, what's the most important thing is that there are schools that kids can go. And it's like... Like Fame, like the movie Fame.

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 22:40

Well, that's what it was modeled after. Is that true? Yes.

Mark R: 22:43

Dude, did you guys

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 22:44

ever see Fame?

Mark R: 22:44

Yeah, of course. Like when you watch Fame, didn't you want to go to that school? Remember

Tuddy: 22:47

my name?

Mark R: 22:48

Yeah. You just want to be at lunch and start breaking out in a song and like dancing and like nothing else matters. Red leg warmers. Yeah.

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 22:54

Well, come on by. Come on

Tuddy: 22:58

by. Come on by. Hey, you did it once on the choir.

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 22:59

Every day is an adventure.

Mark R: 23:01

I was invited to Loxah to observe the 64-hour film festival that they have, which every student in the film department gets to be a part of it's going on now

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 23:11

today is the kickoff and they have 64 hours to write oh that's awesome

Mark R: 23:15

how many movies do they get to how many movies oh

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 23:18

my gosh it's like sometimes 12 I want to say it was a lot

Mark R: 23:22

last year they give them like you have to do you have to use this shoe you have to use this pot you have to use this book and every movie has to

Tuddy: 23:32

incorporate

Mark R: 23:33

those incorporate those things into their movie no matter what the movie is horror or whatever it is so I went to the kickoff i went to the actual festival and it was amazing right because the the loxa's um theater is an outside amphitheater and it's beautiful and the inside they have an inside theater which is beautiful um but what what i was really impressed by is the level that the kids were directing and writing at they were quite it was very impressive i was like wow these guys are all very very talented and the fact that they got to do that and that that's that was their school is remarkable. All these teachers are in the business somewhere and they're cheering the kids on and they're cheering and they pick their teams of actors and you're going to film it and you're going to do the lighting and you're going to write it and it was just super impressive. I think a lot of people that listen to this show are going to find this fascinating and potentially a lot of us have kids that could go to a great school like this and really exercise that muscle of being creative and I think I think there's something to it. I think there should be a lot more creative stuff happening in schools because I think it would make a big difference.

Tuddy: 24:44

It does. Yes.

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 24:45

So, really, and we have, like, everything. We have piano recitals. We have art shows. We have everything. So, please, you know, go on the website. Yeah, my plug, laksa.net, and you will see that we have a calendar that is absolutely

Mark R: 24:58

full. Go out laksa.net because I'm saying laksa, and that would help people better.

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 25:03

L-A-C-H-S-A.

Mark R: 25:05

One more time.

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 25:06

L-A-C-H-S-A.net. .net. And you will find all of this on there. We have a space where you can see some of the shows. Oh, awesome. Like the films that you were talking about. That's

Mark R: 25:17

super cool. But let's not forget, Al Pacino did Macbeth with the students there. Josh Groban went there. Fergie went there. I guess it doesn't matter that much except for, you know, sometimes you can go to a performing arts school and not go into the performing arts, right? It just... You exercise the entertainment part of you, the creative part of you, and you decide to become a lawyer or a doctor or something, right? It happens. I think the sooner you start, the better, too. There have been outlets like that for a lot of us. I mean, who knows where you'd be, Tootie? Wait, do you do composers?

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 25:55

Yeah.

Mark R: 25:56

You

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 25:56

do? Yeah, we have composition classes. We have songwriting classes, commercial music. Wait a minute. So that's new because that's what

Mark R: 26:05

Awesome. All right, Rusty. you listening well extrememusic.com is the best music library in the world and they use a really great platform to search for it and it's super easy

Tuddy: 26:19

that's the most important

Mark R: 26:20

so anything's possible with extrememusic.com so go check them out they're the best in the business I don't know where the business is going and I don't know what's going to happen but I am really optimistic that opportunity is going to get a lot bigger and better for students, for everyone in the industry. I mean, the fact that it's changing is not a negative thing. So I'm hoping that schools like LAXA keep growing and keep bringing in more educators that are in the business and doing things so that all those students can find new things to love about what is available to them. Yeah.

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 26:59

No, thank you. And you know, of course, I'm going to love my school the most, but LA is popping out some other art schools now. So it's like, this is something that that it's growing, because people know you have to create. Speaking about being creative, you have a child that used to use an outlet, and that's what you were talking about earlier. You mentioned the creative outlet. Well, now, and I talk to my ninth graders about this. I say, you know, you need to, this has been your creative outlet, but I don't want it to stress, I don't want it to stress the kids out, because now they're being graded on it. They're almost like professionals. They're So I always try to talk to the families to say, you know, make time, you know, for a walk or to do something else. So you have an outlet and still go home and improvise and do other things. But the day is a really long day because some of our students commute. I mean, we have them from all over the county. So we have people, you know, with a two-hour commute. Students, you know, come in on the train because fortunately at Cal State LA, yeah, it drops you right there. And so we have students coming on the train, commuting, car pools and so it's really a it's really a commitment some kids you know two hour commutes so

Mark R: 28:14

it's it's remarkable but also you know I think about being a kid and I think you know when I used to play the piano when I was you know before I got into high school I would play entire summers I think I would play like eight hours a day sometimes just that's all I would do and I remember telling my son recently I said you know to become really good at an instrument you really do have to devote a lot of time to it's not going to just happen

Tuddy: 28:39

yeah but you loved playing I did well you didn't want to get beat up by the greens

Mark R: 28:43

yeah yeah the greens used to come by and sing with me but so

Davie Dave: 28:47

you were scared

Mark R: 28:48

so I was a little nervous and scared I'd see Gary Green walking down the street and Charlie and Liz and I'd be like whoop I'm going to go back inside and play a little piano

Tuddy: 28:55

and then they would follow you

Mark R: 28:56

my favorite part of that story is that I used to play and play and play and these guys used to walk by because they used to go to the park and play basketball beat people up and then come back home so they would yeah but they would walk by my house and they'd hear me playing all day long right so eventually I would it was a hot summer day and I was playing Barry Manilow which is what I usually play and I was playing like I don't know I write the songs or something and I'm playing it and I feel like hot like someone's watching me so I turn around my doors open and the gates kind of closed but it's Gary Liz and Charlie standing at the door and these are people that I actively feared right like I did not watch in their direction because I was like, I'm going to get my ass beat. So they're standing at the door and I'm like, oh my God. So I stopped playing. I get up, I walk over to the door. I'm like 13, okay, 14. I walk over to the door and I'm like, oh, hey guys. And they're like, you playing Manilow? Yeah, I'm playing Barry Manilow. Like, can we come in?

Tuddy: 30:00

Sure.

Mark R: 30:01

Come on in. So I let them in. I'm like, this is it. I'm going to get jumped in my own

Tuddy: 30:07

house.

Mark R: 30:08

They come in and they're like, do you play Mandy? I was like, it's in the book. I can play Mandy. They're like, play it. So I start, I start to, yeah, I'm a little shaky. Yeah. I'm like, can I start again? Can I start again? And then I start to play and lo and behold, man, these guys start to sing at the top of their lungs. I

Tuddy: 30:33

love it.

Mark R: 30:33

At the top of their lungs. And then we ended up becoming best friends and hanging out and I would go, yeah, I ended up playing like five or six other songs that they sang at the top of their lungs. Like they

Tuddy: 30:45

needed to create about, yes, they

Mark R: 30:46

really, they And you gave it to them. Yeah, and they were very talented. They were incredible. And it taught me a lot about thinking that people are a certain way when they're really not. They were also incredible athletes, man. Anyway, I could talk about them for a whole show. But yeah, I'm so glad you came on. I hope you come back. L-A-C-H-S-A dot net.

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 31:10

Yes.

Mark R: 31:11

All right, well, check it out.

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 31:13

Please do.

Mark R: 31:13

Laksa, thank you, Dr. Tina Vartanian, for being here. Thank

Dr. Tina Vartanian: 31:16

you. I really enjoyed being

Mark R: 31:18

with you today. Thank you, doctors. Great. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it. Did you have any questions, David? No. No. You seem like you might, do you want to go to the school? Cause I could hook you up. I just want to know when your, when your class is going to be. All right. Robert, stay gold. Yeah. Stay gold. Oh my God. Stay gold. All right. Well, thanks for being with us. We'll talk to you next time on Film Hustlers.

Tuddy: 31:39

Yay.